News you can use: What Black Friday deals are worth waiting for?
If you're wondering what type of Black Friday deals are really worth the mobs of shoppers competing for lower-priced merchandise, we've got you covered.
Personal finance website Wallethub.com did a ton of research to tease out what categories of items are most discounted on Black Friday, versus those that typically don't change much, or even get more expensive.
Here are the highlights:
To separate myth from fact, the WalletHub research team compared the pre-Black Friday and actual Black Friday prices of a broad selection of items. You can find rankings of the best items to buy on Black Friday and a detailed methodology below. For tips from the experts, you can also visit Wallethub's original report here.
First, here are some some of the best Black Friday deals you'll encounter, across a swath of top retailers in alphabetical order.
| Retailer | Item | Black Friday Price After Discount | Pre-Black Friday Price | Additional Discount for Waiting Until Black Friday ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace Hardware | Perfect Shape 7.5ft Grand Fir Lighted Christmas Tree | $199.99 | $371.25 | -$171.26 |
| Craftsman 1/2Hp Chain Drive Garage Door Opener (w/Card) | $99.99 | $178.99 | -$79.00 | |
| 4-1/2ft Clear Prelit Brookhaven Porch Tree | $49.99 | $115.49 | -$65.50 | |
| Craftsman 12 Gallon Wet/Dry Vacuum | $49.99 | $103.80 | -$53.81 | |
| Craftsman 5 Drawer Steel Tool Center | $79.99 | $125.00 | -$45.01 | |
| Celebrations Laying Doe | $39.99 | $64.81 | -$24.82 | |
| Mr Christmas Multicolor Sphere Set | $39.99 | $63.90 | -$23.91 | |
| Mr Christmas Sphere Set | $39.99 | $60.39 | -$20.40 | |
| DeWalt 20V Lithium Ion Compact Drill / Driver / Impact Driver Combo Kit | $179.99 | $199.00 | -$19.01 | |
| T-Fal 10 Pc Initiatives Cookware Set | $39.99 | $46.90 | -$6.91 | |
| Amazon | Power Wheels Dune Racer Chrome | $217.49 | $289.99 | -$72.50 |
| Allen Sports Urban Aluminum 1 Speed Folding Bicycle, Navy, 12-Inch/One Size | $306.29 | $377.40 | -$71.11 | |
| Razor Crazy Cart | $319.99 | $390.25 | -$70.26 | |
| Peg Perego XP850 Polaris Sporstman Ride On, Silver | $539.94 | $598.99 | -$59.05 | |
| Hape Discovery Space Center | $80.00 | $116.60 | -$36.60 | |
| Firmstrong Urban Boy Single Speed Beach Cruiser Bicycle, Black/Red Rims | $244.04 | $204.23 | $39.81 | |
| Playmation Marvel Avengers Starter Pack Repulsor | $114.25 | $69.99 | $44.26 | |
| Meccano MeccaNoid G15 KS | $349.01 | $299.99 | $49.02 | |
| Allen Sports Downtown Aluminum 1 Speed Folding Bicycle, Cool Grey, 12-Inch/One Size | $268.57 | $182.55 | $86.02 | |
| Razor SX500 McGrath Dirt Rocket Electric Motocross Bike | $419.97 | $299.00 | $120.97 | |
| Belk | Keurig® K-Cup® Elite K45 Brewer | $89.99 | $143.98 | -$53.99 |
| Leisure Wheeled Garment Bag | $49.99 | $103.07 | -$53.08 | |
| Ninja MEGA Kitchen System | $129.99 | $174.90 | -$44.91 | |
| Estée Lauder Pleasures Captivating Duet | $29.99 | $69.99 | -$40.00 | |
| BareTraps Sabio Boot | $60.00 | $99.90 | -$39.90 | |
| Innovative Technology Aviator Bluetooth Music Center | $174.99 | $169.99 | $5.00 | |
| KitchenAid® Classic Plus Stand Mixer 4.5-qt. KSM75 | $219.99 | $199.99 | $20.00 | |
| KitchenAid® Artisan Stand 5-qt. Mixer KSM150 | $299.99 | $279.99 | $20.00 | |
| Ninja Nutri Ninja™ Pro BL456 | $99.99 | $79.94 | $20.05 | |
| Calphalon® Simply Hard Anodized Nonstick 10-Piece Cookware Set, Plus $20 Main-In-Rebate | $169.99 | $144.49 | $25.50 | |
| Big Lots | Storage Wardrobe, 2 adjustable shelves, cherry finish | $129.99 | $202.31 | -$72.32 |
| Serta® Ortho Foam Pet Bed | $30.00 | $84.99 | -$54.99 | |
| Ameriwood™ Single Door Storage Pantry, 4 shelves | $69.99 | $117.21 | -$47.22 | |
| Kitchen Storage Carts | $99.99 | $126.37 | -$26.38 | |
| 3 Pc. Breakfast Set | $119.99 | $139.99 | -$20.00 | |
| Cheval Jewelry Armoire | $179.00 | $182.99 | -$3.99 | |
| BJ's | Night Owl 8-Channel 8 HD 720p Indoor/Outdoor Night Vision Cameras with 2TB HDD 960H Smart AHD DVR (after 170 clipless coupon) | $299.99 | $637.99 | -$338.00 |
| Samsung MX-HS7000 2,300W Giga System (after $300 clipless coupon) | $449.99 | $699.99 | -$250.00 | |
| Canon EOS Rebel T5 18MP 3" LCD Digital DSLR Camera Bundle with EF-S 18-55mm IS II Lens, EF 75-300 III Lens, 16GB SD, Bag (after $350 clipless coupon) | $399.99 | $599.95 | -$199.96 | |
| Samsung 75" Slim Smart 1080p LED HDTV | $1,999.99 | $2,197.99 | -$198.00 | |
| Lenovo C40 All-in-One Desktop Computer (after $130 clipless coupon) | $399.99 | $576.97 | -$176.98 | |
| Dyson Ball Multi-Floor Bagless Vacuum (after $80 clipless coupon) | $289.99 | $304.40 | -$14.41 | |
| Samsung 28" Smart 720p LED HDTV (after $30 clipless coupon) | $189.99 | $194.94 | -$4.95 | |
| Vizio Sound Stand (after $50 clipless coupon) | $99.99 | $99.96 | $0.03 | |
| Samsung TW J5500 350W Sound Tower Speakers (after $130 clipless coupon) | $249.99 | $249.81 | $0.18 | |
| Nikon D3300 24.2MP CMOS DSLR Camera with DX NIKKOR 18-55mm VR Lens, Wi-Fi Adapter, 32GB SD and Case | $499.99 | $446.95 | $53.04 | |
| Costco | Osaki OS-3D Pro Cyber Massage Chair | $3,399.00 | $4,999.99 | -$1,600.99 |
| HP Envy 17 17.3'' Laptop | $699.99 | $1,029.99 | -$330.00 | |
| Casio AP250 Celviano 88-key Digital Piano Bundle | $749.99 | $973.37 | -$223.38 | |
| Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal + Upright Vacuum | $339.99 | $509.98 | -$169.99 | |
| Nikon D3300 2-Lens DSLR Kit | $499.99 | $629.95 | -$129.96 | |
| Sentry Quick Access Biometric Pistol Safe | $129.99 | $167.46 | -$37.47 | |
| Seagate 5TB Backup Plus Desktop Hard Drive | $119.99 | $133.99 | -$14.00 | |
| Escort 9500 ix Radar Detector | $329.99 | $343.47 | -$13.48 | |
| Ooma Telo Air Phone System | $89.99 | $97.85 | -$7.86 | |
| Hercules WAE BTP04 Plus Outdoor Bluetooth Speaker | $44.99 | $44.92 | $0.07 | |
| Panasonic | Real Pro ULTRA™ 3D Massage Chair EP-MA70KX Black | $2,999.99 | $5,177.00 | -$2,177.01 |
| Panasonic 65” Class (64.5" Diag.) Pro 4K Ultra HD Smart TV 240hz-CX850 Series- TC-65CX850U | $2,499.99 | $3,199.00 | -$699.01 | |
| Chinese Spinal Technique Massage Chair EP-MA10KU Black | $1,499.99 | $1,982.30 | -$482.31 | |
| LUMIX G7 Interchangeable Lens (DSLM) Camera Kit with 14-42mm Lens | $599.99 | $999.98 | -$399.99 | |
| 3MOS Ultrafine Full HD Camcorder | $699.99 | $952.74 | -$252.75 | |
| GH4 Pro Photo Performance Camera Body w/4K Cinematic Photo | $1,299.99 | $1,297.99 | $2.00 | |
| Panasonic RP-BTD5-K Bluetooth Wireless Headphones | $79.99 | $66.99 | $13.00 | |
| 4K Ultra HD Camcorder with Built-in Twin Video Camera | $799.99 | $778.49 | $21.50 | |
| Premium Noise Cancelling Over-the-Ear Headphones with Travel Case RP-HC800-K | $169.99 | $146.20 | $23.79 | |
| LUMIX 20X Zoom Camera w/Wink-Activated Selfie Feature | $179.99 | $119.99 | $60.00 |
*Depending on an item, the researchers collected one or more of its advertised prices between Oct. 26 and Nov. 19. The “Pre-Black Friday Price” is the lowest of those prices for each item.
**Note the negative value; it means you pay less if you acquire the product on Black Friday.
Here is the breakdown of greatest discounts by product category:
Methodology
In order to identify the best and worst items to buy on Black Friday, WalletHub’s analysts first determined each item’s “Pre-Black Friday Price” by collecting its advertised price on Amazon.com between Oct. 26 and Nov. 19. For certain items, they collected two prices during that period and in such cases chose the lowest to represent the “Pre-Black Friday Price.”
They then collected the advertised price on 2015 Black Friday ads for the same item on Black Friday in order to determine its “Black Friday Price.” The sample excludes deals that did not have calculable percentage markdowns.
Finally, they ranked the items according to the overall difference in their prices between the two dates and determined which products would pay off the most for a shopper’s Black Friday hassle.
Please note that Amazon did not provide all the requested info for all their Black Friday deals. As a result some deals could not be included in the calculations.
Source: Data used to create these rankings were obtained from BlackFriday.com and Amazon.com.
This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 8:56 AM with the headline "News you can use: What Black Friday deals are worth waiting for?."